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Josh Strickland, Stripped

Star of Peepshow and new E! reality show Holly’s World, Josh Strickland reveals why, despite much speculation during his stint as Broadway’s Tarzan, he hasn’t discussed his sexuality in interviews until now.

Jenn Gambatese JOSH Strickland X390 (HEINZ KLEUTMEIER) | ADVOCATE.COM
Jenn Gambatese and Strickland in Tarzan

A promising contestant cut right before semifinals on season 2 of American Idol, Josh Strickland swung back into the national spotlight in 2006 as the loinclothed lead in Disney’s Tarzan, a critically maligned musical that ran for more than a year on Broadway. Strickland currently suits up as the main male vocalist in Peepshow, Jerry Mitchell’s popular burlesque review at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. Thanks to Strickland’s friendship with Peepshow costar Holly Madison, the 26-year-old South Carolina native now appears in her Girls Next Door spin-off, Holly’s World, which premieres June 13 on E! Opening up about his Idol journey and controversially trim Tarzan torso, Strickland shows The Advocate a peep into his life as a proud gay man.


The Advocate: When asked if you were gay, the search engine ChaCha — which is not where I get all my information — said, “Although I am unable to find an interview where Josh Strickland states that he is gay, the consensus around the Web is that he is.” Before now, as you’re promoting Holly’s World, have you never spoken openly about your sexuality to the press?
Josh Strickland: Probably not. I think the reason I never talked about it before is because I was playing Tarzan, one of the most masculine characters on Broadway. I never really hid it, but I was never asked about that in interviews because I guess most people just wanted to talk about me playing that iconic character. But recently, and especially now, I’m not going to hide any of that. I think it’s really important to be who I am and true to myself.

During Tarzan there was a lot of speculation about your sexuality on various blogs and Broadway chat rooms. Were you aware of that?
I did know that was going on, but I tried not to look at blogs because some of it was so nasty. It’s fine that people were talking about it, but I was never asked, like, “Are you gay? How does it feel being gay and playing a character like Tarzan?” It never came up. Now I’m happy to be open and out about it. If people are going to speculate anyway, why not wash all that speculation away? I am who I am.

There were rumors floating around that Disney tried to keep your sexuality a secret by preventing you from speaking too much and by limiting your interviews.
Disney’s one of the best companies to work for, and I never had any complaints. What they did for me was put me in a class for media training. They gave me talking points about the show, but they didn’t tell me what I couldn’t talk about. I was never held back from being who I am. The questions people asked were just never about my sexuality.

At what point did you decide that you’d be honest about it if you were asked?
It was from all that speculation during Tarzan. I was really tired of people making up their own answers. I’d rather just put it to rest and be myself. Nowadays it really doesn’t even matter. You see people coming out all the time, and it makes them stronger and happier. I didn’t want to be one of those souls struggling every day to fight who I am. I’m 10 times better just by being out and open about it. It makes my life so much happier. I have no regrets about anything.

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Reader Comments
  • Name: John Wills
    Date posted: 3/19/2011 12:14:47 AM
    Hometown: Myrtle Beach, SC

    Comment:

    No doubt. He is absolutely beautiful no matter whether he is laughing, crying, or anything else! Of course, being a South Carolinian as I am, knowing that he came from Charleston, what did I expect?

  • Name: lois
    Date posted: 7/29/2010 10:00:25 PM
    Hometown: syosset

    Comment:

    I love love love your show and all the characters who are not only attractive, but intelligent and warm aand hope it will continue for many more episodes.

  • Name: wENDY
    Date posted: 7/16/2010 1:52:29 AM
    Hometown: k fALLS

    Comment:

    Josh..... I love Holly's World even more then Kendra show. I hope your not going anywhere I can't wait to see what you will do with your fame and talent. you are gorgeous!! and fun to watch. wishing great things for you and your friends!!

  • Name: Dex
    Date posted: 7/4/2010 10:57:42 PM
    Hometown: Corona Del Mar

    Comment:

    Coming from a straight dude, Josh is freakin' beautiful...

  • Name: Gene
    Date posted: 6/12/2010 1:10:03 AM
    Hometown: Bivins

    Comment:

    What in the world is a "gay face"? What makes a face gay? I'll bet Bob can't even explain it.

  • Name: Blake J
    Date posted: 6/11/2010 10:54:56 AM
    Hometown: Johannesburg

    Comment:

    Do not be a douche bag Bob. Anyone who is proud of themselves, including for being gay, are welcome in the community. Leave the hate to the orientation-ists! This whole 'gay-face' bullshit is unbelievably offensive!!!

  • Name: Bob
    Date posted: 6/10/2010 10:10:51 PM
    Hometown: HB

    Comment:

    It's like we couldn't tell he was gay already, he has a really noticeable gay face.

  • Name: Javier
    Date posted: 6/10/2010 5:53:09 PM
    Hometown: Houston

    Comment:

    Great for Josh accepting his sexuality.

  • Name: Mark
    Date posted: 6/10/2010 5:25:58 PM
    Hometown: WF

    Comment:

    I always thought Tarzan was gay in the original old black and white movies. Hopefully one day Disney will have the guts to have an openly gay character in their movies so gay/lesbian kids stop committing suicide, thinking they are the only one, and/or so evil that they can't be represented in movies for kids. They certainly have enough gay people working at Disney. As for Josh, I hope he continues to stop hiding his inborn sexual orientation and continues being proud and open about who he is. I also hope he gets better roles than singing in burlesque and reality cable tv about vapid female models. As he noted, many openly gay actors are starring on tv shows and on Broadway. He should be too.



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